ALL IS NOT WELL FOR THE #1 SEED IN THE WEST
Ah....to be back. I had to do my real job for the past couple of days so my fun job had to wait. Although I wasn't writing I did get to watch the first few games of the second half. Among many other trends I've seen emerge, the New Orleans Hornets are intriguing because of their place atop the Western Conference standings.
Simply put, they're struggling big time right now. We all knew that what comes up must go down but you have to be concerned about a younger team with newfound success. These types of swings come at a cost. Namely, the team's psyche becomes more fragile. Teams tend to tinker more when they lose and tinkering is probably the number one cause of missed field goals other than last night's late night conquest.
After beating Dallas to start the Texas Triangle they lost to Houston and then at San Antonio. The victory against Dallas came in Jason Kidd's first game as he struggled to find rhthym with his new teammates.
Then came tonight's matchup at home against the stuggling Wizards, the same Wizards that lost to a Cleveland team that dressed only 6 NBA starters (if you could call some of them that) and 2 D-league guys. As 10 point favorites they lost to a DeShaun Stevenson game-winning 3 pointer at the buzzer.
The story though was how Washington chose to defend Chris Paul. They consistently ran 2 defenders at him where he likes to setup the offense at the top of the key. This led to 11 steals and 4 turnovers out of the usually sure-handed Paul. But it also led to a choppy offensive flow and while New Orleans shot a good percentage from both the floor and from 3 (46% and 41% respectively), they couldn't stop the surging Wizards in the second half. Add to that critical misses from the free throw line (11-21 tonight) and they beat themselves.
Teams are going to take notice of New Orleans inability to run their offense through anybody else other than CP3. The Bonzi Wells acquisition may be the perfect remedy for this, but we have to see it before we believe it. The trio of Peterson, Peja, and West simply can't handle the ball well enough. For Peja it led to an uncharacteristic 4-16 shooting as he was put into a position to shoot off the dribble which is not his strength.
We like New Orleans to make some noise in the playoffs but they lack the experience and a second offensive captain to shoulder the load. If Bonzi Wells can be that guy then they have just as good a shot as anyone else.
Simply put, they're struggling big time right now. We all knew that what comes up must go down but you have to be concerned about a younger team with newfound success. These types of swings come at a cost. Namely, the team's psyche becomes more fragile. Teams tend to tinker more when they lose and tinkering is probably the number one cause of missed field goals other than last night's late night conquest.
After beating Dallas to start the Texas Triangle they lost to Houston and then at San Antonio. The victory against Dallas came in Jason Kidd's first game as he struggled to find rhthym with his new teammates.
Then came tonight's matchup at home against the stuggling Wizards, the same Wizards that lost to a Cleveland team that dressed only 6 NBA starters (if you could call some of them that) and 2 D-league guys. As 10 point favorites they lost to a DeShaun Stevenson game-winning 3 pointer at the buzzer.
The story though was how Washington chose to defend Chris Paul. They consistently ran 2 defenders at him where he likes to setup the offense at the top of the key. This led to 11 steals and 4 turnovers out of the usually sure-handed Paul. But it also led to a choppy offensive flow and while New Orleans shot a good percentage from both the floor and from 3 (46% and 41% respectively), they couldn't stop the surging Wizards in the second half. Add to that critical misses from the free throw line (11-21 tonight) and they beat themselves.
Teams are going to take notice of New Orleans inability to run their offense through anybody else other than CP3. The Bonzi Wells acquisition may be the perfect remedy for this, but we have to see it before we believe it. The trio of Peterson, Peja, and West simply can't handle the ball well enough. For Peja it led to an uncharacteristic 4-16 shooting as he was put into a position to shoot off the dribble which is not his strength.
We like New Orleans to make some noise in the playoffs but they lack the experience and a second offensive captain to shoulder the load. If Bonzi Wells can be that guy then they have just as good a shot as anyone else.
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